The Loyola theater program gave a stellar performance again this weekend. Their spring musical, Children of Eden was finally shown to audiences after months of hard work from the cast and crew.
Children of Eden is a musical based on the Biblical story of Genesis. The first act followed the story of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel. The second act focused on Noah and his ark.
The musical itself was amazingly written. It successfully told these Bible stories while keeping it entertaining and relevant to the audience. The musical numbers were very catchy and helped move the plot forward.
One of my personal favorite songs was “The Pursuit of Excellence” in which the snake, played by senior Margot Burm, junior Evelyn Pricco, and sophomores Lily Fitzgerald, Ali Gregorio, Augie Hammerle, and Maya Vanek sang about questions of life and the forbidden fruit. The rhythm of this song was catchy and it was enhanced by the amazing dance from the snake performers.
Another song I really enjoyed was “Generations.” This song was nice to see the entire ensemble work together to create a beautiful sound and dance.
Children of Eden was double casted, allowing even more of the lovely performers at Loyola to shine on stage.
The night that I saw the show, Eve/Noah’s wife was played by senior Hannah Beil, Adam/Noah was played by senior Ian Elliot, and Father was played by senior Kate Sipchen. All three were show stopping in their roles and very strong throughout the whole performance.
Junior Tommy Grant played Cain in the first act and Japeth in the second. He was absolutely stunning in his vocals and brought the full emotion that is the character of Cain.
He was amazing yet again in the second act as Japeth and was complemented by sophomore Jacqueline Willer who played Yonah, Japeth’s forbidden love.
Willer delivered a great performance of “Stranger to the Rain” and was definitely one of the best parts of the second act.
The musical was all around amazing when it came to the talent of the actors and actresses.
I also noticed that the set and costume designs were very pretty and really elevated the show. It is definitely true that it takes a whole team to create a musical, and the team for Children of Eden was amazing.
It is surely sad that Children of Eden has been performed for the last time, but I look forward to seeing what the Loyola theater program will do next.